Backhaul link for distributed antenna system

ABSTRACT

A distributed antenna and backhaul system provide network connectivity for a small cell deployment. Rather than building new structures, and installing additional fiber and cable, embodiments described herein disclose using high-bandwidth, millimeter-wave communications and existing power line infrastructure. Above ground backhaul connections via power lines and line-of-sight millimeter-wave band signals as well as underground backhaul connections via buried electrical conduits can provide connectivity to the distributed base stations. An overhead millimeter-wave system can also be used to provide backhaul connectivity. Modules can be placed onto existing infrastructure, such as streetlights and utility poles, and the modules can contain base stations and antennas to transmit the millimeter-waves to and from other modules.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/156,465, filed May 17, 2016, which is acontinuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/788,994, filed Jul. 1, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,699,785), which is acontinuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/274,638, filed May 9, 2014 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,119,127), which is acontinuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/705,690, filed Dec. 5, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,113,347). Allsections of the aforementioned applications are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject disclosure relates to wireless communications and moreparticularly to providing backhaul connectivity to distributed antennasand base stations.

BACKGROUND

As smart phones and other portable devices increasingly becomeubiquitous, and data usage skyrockets, macrocell base stations andexisting wireless infrastructure are being overwhelmed. To provideadditional mobile bandwidth, small cell deployment is being pursued,with microcells and picocells providing coverage for much smaller areasthan traditional macrocells, but at high expense.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a distributed antenna system in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a distributed antenna system in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a distributed antenna system in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a quasi-optical coupling in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a millimeter band antenna apparatus in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of an underground backhaul system in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram of an example, non-limitingembodiment of a method for providing a backhaul connection as describedherein.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments are now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It is evident,however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without thesespecific details (and without applying to any particular networkedenvironment or standard).

To provide network connectivity to additional base stations, thebackhaul network that links the microcells and macrocells to the mobilenetwork correspondingly expands. Providing a wireless backhaulconnection is difficult due to the limited bandwidth available atcommonly used frequencies. Fiber and cable have bandwidth, butinstalling the connections can be cost prohibitive due to thedistributed nature of small cell deployment.

For these considerations as well as other considerations, in one or moreembodiments, a system includes a memory to store instructions and aprocessor, communicatively coupled to the memory to facilitate executionof the instructions to perform operations including facilitating receiptof a first guided wave received via a power line and converting thefirst guided wave to an electronic transmission. The operations alsoinclude facilitating transmission of an electronic signal determinedfrom the electronic transmission to a base station device. Theoperations can also include converting the electronic transmission intoa second guided wave, and facilitating transmission of the second guidedwave via the power line.

Another embodiment includes a memory to store instructions and aprocessor, communicatively coupled to the memory to facilitate executionof the instructions to perform operations including facilitating receiptof a first transmission from a first radio repeater device. Theoperations can include directing a second transmission to a second radiorepeater device wherein the first and second transmissions are at afrequency of at least about 57 GHz. The operations also includedetermining an electronic signal from the first transmission anddirecting the electronic signal to a base station device.

In another embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a deviceincluding a processor, a first surface wave transmission via a powerline and converting the first surface wave transmission into anelectronic transmission. The method can also include extracting acommunication signal from the electronic transmission and sending thecommunication signal to a base station device. The method can alsoinclude transmitting the electronic transmission as a second surfacewave transmission over the power line wherein the first surface wavetransmission and the second surface wave transmission are at a frequencyof at least 30 GHz.

Various embodiments described herein relate to a system that provides adistributed antenna system for a small cell deployment and/or a backhaulconnection for a small cell deployment. Rather than building newstructures, and installing additional fiber and cable, embodimentsdescribed herein disclose using high-bandwidth, millimeter-wavecommunications and existing power line infrastructure. Above groundbackhaul connections via power lines and line of sight millimeter-waveband signals as well as underground backhaul connections via buriedelectrical conduits can provide connectivity to the distributed basestations.

In an embodiment, an overhead millimeter-wave system can be used toprovide backhaul connectivity. Modules can be placed onto existinginfrastructure, such as streetlights and utility poles, and the modulescan contain base stations and antennas to transmit the millimeter wavesto and from other modules. One of the modules, or nodes, in the networkcan be communicably coupled, either by fiber/cable, or by a standard57-64 GHz line-of-sight microwave connection to a macrocell site that isphysically connected to the mobile network.

In another embodiment, base station nodes can be installed on utilitypoles, and the backhaul connection can be provided by transmitters thatsend millimeter-wave band surface wave transmissions via the power linesbetween nodes. A single site with one or more base stations can also beconnected via the surface wave transmission over power lines to adistributed antenna system, with cellular antennas located at the nodes.In another embodiment, underground conduits can be used to transmitguided waves, with the waves propagating in the empty space between theconduit and the power lines. Signal extractors and base stations can beplaced in existing transformer boxes.

Turning now to FIG. 1, illustrated is an example, non-limitingembodiment of a distributed antenna system 100 in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

Distributed antenna system 100 includes one or more base stations (e.g.,base station device 104) that are communicably coupled to a macrocellsite 102. Base station device 104 can be connected by fiber and/orcable, or by a microwave wireless connection to macrocell site 102.Macrocells such as macrocell site 102 can have dedicated connections tothe mobile network and base station device 104 can piggy back off ofmacrocell site 102's connection. Base station device 104 can be mountedon, or attached to, utility pole 116. In other embodiments, base stationdevice 104 can be near transformers and/or other locations situatednearby a power line.

Base station device 104 can provide connectivity for mobile devices 122and 124. Antennas 112 and 114, mounted on or near utility poles 118 and120 can receive signals from base station device 104 and transmit thosesignals to mobile devices 122 and 124 over a much wider area than if theantennas 112 and 114 were located at or near base station device 104.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 1 displays three utility poles, withone base station device, for purposes of simplicity. In otherembodiments, utility pole 116 can have more base station devices, andone or more utility poles with distributed antennas are possible.

A launcher 106 can transmit the signal from base station device 104 toantennas 112 and 114 over a power line(s) that connect the utility poles116, 118, and 120. To transmit the signal, launcher 106 upconverts thesignal from base station device 104 to a millimeter-wave band signal andthe launcher 106 can include a cone transceiver (shown in FIG. 3 in moredetail) that launches a millimeter-wave band surface wave thatpropagates as a guided wave traveling along the wire. At utility pole118, a repeater 108 receives the surface wave and can amplify it andsend it forward on the power line. The repeater 108 can also extract asignal from the millimeter-wave band surface wave and shift it down infrequency to its original cellular band frequency (e.g. 1.9 GHz). Anantenna can transmit the downshifted signal to mobile device 122. Theprocess can be repeated by repeater 110, antenna 114 and mobile device124.

Transmissions from mobile devices 122 and 124 can also be received byantennas 112 and 114 respectively. The repeaters 108 and 110 can upshiftthe cellular band signals to millimeter-wave band (e.g., 60-110 GHz) andtransmit the signals as surface wave transmissions over the powerline(s) to base station device 104.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system 200 in accordance withvarious aspects described herein is shown. The embodiment shown in FIG.2 differs from FIG. 1 in that rather than having a distributed antennasystem with base station devices located in one place and having remoteantennas, the base station devices themselves are distributed throughthe system, and the backhaul connection is provided by surface wavetransmissions over the power lines.

System 200 includes an RF modem 202 that receives a network connectionvia a physical or wireless connection to existing networkinfrastructure. The network connection can be via fiber and/or cable, orby a high-bandwidth microwave connection. The RF modem can receive thenetwork connection and process it for distribution to base stationdevices 204 and 206. The RF modem 202 can modulate a millimeter-waveband transmission using a protocol such as DOCSIS, and out put thesignal to a launcher 208. Launcher 208 can include a cone (shown in FIG.5 in more detail) that launches a millimeter-wave band surface wave thatpropagates as a guided wave traveling along the wire.

At utility pole 216, a repeater 210 receives the surface wave and canamplify it and send it forward over the power line to repeater 212.Repeater 210 can also include a modem that extracts the signal from thesurface wave, and output the signal to base station device 204. Basestation device 204 can then use the backhaul connection to facilitatecommunications with mobile device 220.

Repeater 212 can receive the millimeter-wave band surface wavetransmission sent by repeater 210, and extract a signal via a modem, andoutput the signal to base station device 206 which can facilitatecommunications with mobile device 222. The backhaul connection can workin reverse as well, with transmissions from mobile devices 220 and 222being received by base station devices 204 and 206 which forward thecommunications via the backhaul network to repeaters 210 and 212.Repeaters 210 and 212 can convert the communications signal to amillimeter-wave band surface wave and transmit it via the power lineback to launcher 208, RF modem 202 and on to the mobile network.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system 300 is shown.FIG. 3 shows in more detail the base station 104 and launcher 106described in FIG. 1. A base station device 302 can include a router 304and a microcell 308 (or picocell, femtocell, or other small celldeployment). The base station device 302 can receive an external networkconnection 306 that is linked to existing infrastructure. The networkconnection 306 can be physical (such as fiber or cable) or wireless(high-bandwidth microwave connection). The existing infrastructure thatthe network connection 306 can be linked to, can in some embodiments bemacrocell sites. For those macrocell sites that have high data ratenetwork connections, base station device 302 can share the networkconnection with the macrocell site.

The router 304 can provide connectivity for microcell 308 whichfacilitates communications with the mobile devices. While FIG. 3 showsthat base station device 302 has one microcell, in other embodiments,the base station device 302 can include two or more microcells. The RFoutput of microcell 308 can be used to modulate a 60 GHz signal and beconnected via fiber to a launcher 318. It is to be appreciated thatlauncher 318 and repeater 108 include similar functionality, and anetwork connection 306 can be linked to either launcher 318 or repeater108 (and 106, 110, and etc.).

In other embodiments, the base station device 302 can be coupled tolauncher 318 by a quasi-optical coupling (shown in more detail in FIG.7). Launcher 318 includes a millimeter-wave interface 312 that shiftsthe frequency of the RF output to a millimeter-wave band signal. Thesignal can then be transmitted as a surface wave transmission by conetransceiver 314 over power line 316.

The cone transceiver 314 can generate an electromagnetic field speciallyconfigured to propagate as a guided wave travelling along the wire. Theguided wave, or surface wave, will stay parallel to the wire, even asthe wire bends and flexes. Bends can increase transmission losses, whichare also dependent on wire diameters, frequency, and materials.

The millimeter-wave interface 312 and the cone transceiver 314 can bepowered by inductive power supply 310 that receives power inductivelyfrom the medium voltage or high voltage power line. In otherembodiments, the power can be supplemented by a battery supply.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a distributed antenna system in accordancewith various aspects described herein is shown. System 400 includes arepeater 402 that has cone transceivers 404 and 412, millimeter-waveinterfaces 406 and 410, as well an inductive power supply 408 andantenna 414.

Transceiver 404 can receive a millimeter-wave band surface wavetransmission sent along a power line. The millimeter-wave interface 406can convert the signal to an electronic signal in a cable or afiber-optic signal and forward the signal to millimeter-wave interface410 and cone transceiver 412 which launch the signal on to the powerline as a surface wave transmission. Millimeter-wave interfaces 406 and410 can also shift the frequency of the signal down and up respectively,between the millimeter-wave band and the cellular band. Antenna 414 cantransmit the signal to mobile devices that are in range of thetransmission.

Antenna 414 can receive return signals from the mobile devices, and passthem to millimeter-wave interfaces 406 and 410 which can shift thefrequency upwards to another frequency band in the millimeter-wavefrequency range. Cone transceivers 404 and 412 can then transmit thereturn signal as a surface wave transmission back to the base stationdevice located near the launcher (e.g. base station device 302).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system 500 in accordance withvarious aspects described herein is shown. Backhaul system 500 shows ingreater detail the RF modem 202 and launcher 208 that are shown in FIG.2. An RF modem 502 can include a router 504 and a modem 508. The RFmodem 502 can receive an external network connection 506 that is linkedto existing infrastructure. The network connection 506 can be physical(such as fiber or cable) or wireless (high-bandwidth microwaveconnection). The existing infrastructure that the network connection 506can be linked to, can in some embodiments be macrocell sites. Sincemacrocell sites already have high data rate network connections, RFmodem 502 can share the network connection with the macrocell site.

The router 504 and modem 508 can modulate a millimeter-wave bandtransmission using a protocol such as DOCSIS, and output the signal to alauncher 516. The RF modem 502 can send the signal to the launcher 516via a fiber or cable link. In some embodiment, RF modem 502 can becoupled to launcher 516 by a quasi-optical coupling (shown in moredetail in FIG. 7).

The launcher 516 can include a millimeter-wave interface 512 that shiftsthe frequency of the RF modem 502 output to a millimeter-wave bandsignal. The signal can then be transmitted as a surface wavetransmission by cone transceiver 514. The cone transceiver 514 cangenerate an electromagnetic field specially configured to propagate as aguided wave travelling along the wire 518. The guided wave, or surfacewave, will stay parallel to the wire, even as the wire bends and flexes.Bends can increase transmission losses, which are also dependent on wirediameters, frequency, and materials.

The millimeter wave interface 512 and the cone transceiver 514 can bepowered by inductive power supply 510 that receives power inductivelyfrom the medium voltage or high voltage power line. In otherembodiments, the power can be supplemented by a battery supply.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of abackhaul system in accordance with various aspects described herein.System 600 includes a repeater 602 that has cone transceivers 604 and612, millimeter-wave interfaces 606 and 610, as well an inductive powersupply 608 and a microcell 614.

Transceiver 604 can receive a millimeter-wave band surface wavetransmission sent along a power line. The millimeter-wave interface 606can convert the signal to an electronic signal in a cable or afiber-optic signal and forward the signal to millimeter-wave interface610 and cone transceiver 612 which launch the signal on to the powerline as a surface wave transmission. Millimeter-wave interfaces 606 and610 can also shift the frequency of the signal up and down, between themillimeter-wave band and the cellular band. The millimeter-waveinterfaces 606 and 610 can also include multiplexers and demultiplexersthat allow for multiplexed signals in the time domain and/or frequencydomain. The millimeter-wave interfaces 606 and 610 can also include amodem that can demodulate the signal using a protocol such as DOCSIS.The signal can then be sent to microcell 614 to facilitatecommunications with a mobile device.

The millimeter wave interfaces 606 and 610 can also include a wirelessaccess point. The wireless access point (e.g., 802.11ac), can enable themicrocell 614 to be located anywhere within range of the wireless accesspoint, and does not need to be physically connected to the repeater 602.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of aquasi-optical coupling 700 in accordance with various aspects describedherein. Specially trained and certified technicians are required to workwith high voltage and medium voltage power lines. Locating the circuitryaway from the high voltage and medium voltage power lines allowsordinary craft technicians to install and maintain the circuitry.Accordingly, this example embodiment is a quasi-optical coupler allowingthe base station and surface wave transmitters to be detached from thepower lines.

At millimeter-wave frequencies, where the wavelength is small comparedto the macroscopic size of the equipment, the millimeter-wavetransmissions can be transported from one place to another and divertedvia lenses and reflectors, much like visible light. Accordingly,reflectors 706 and 708 can be placed and oriented on power line 704 suchthat millimeter-wave band transmissions sent from transmitter 716 arereflected parallel to the power line, such that it is guided by thepower line as a surface wave. Likewise, millimeter-wave band (60 Ghz andgreater for this embodiment) surface waves, sent along the power line704 can be reflected by reflectors 706 and 708 and sent as a collimatedbeam to the dielectric lens 710 and waveguide 718 on a monolithictransmitter integrated circuit 716 which sends the signal to the basestation 712.

The base station 712 and transmitter apparatus 716 can receive powerfrom a transformer 714 that may be part of the existing power companyinfrastructure.

Turning now to FIG. 8, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a backhaul system in accordance with variousaspects described herein is shown. Backhaul system 800 includes a basestation device 808 that receives a network connection via a physical orwireless connection to existing network infrastructure. The networkconnection can be via fiber and/or cable, or by a high bandwidthline-of-sight microwave connection to a nearby macrocell site. The basestation device 808 can include a microcell (or other small celldeployment) that can facilitate communication with mobile device 820.

Radio repeater 802, communicably coupled to base station device 808, cantransmit a millimeter band signal to radio repeater 804. Radio repeater804 can forward the transmission to radio repeater 806 as well, and bothradio repeaters 804 and 806 can share the signal with microcells 810 and812. In this way, the network connection from the existinginfrastructure can be distributed to a mesh network of microcells vialine of sight millimeter band transmissions by radio repeaters.

In some embodiments, the radio repeaters can transmit broadcasts atfrequencies above 100 GHz. A lower gain, broader beamwidth antenna thanconventional millimeter-wave radio links provides high availability atshort link lengths (˜500 ft) while keeping the radio repeaters small andinexpensive.

In some embodiments, the radio repeaters and microcells can be mountedon existing infrastructure such as light poles 814, 816, and 818. Inother embodiments, the radio repeaters and microcells can be mounted onutility poles for power lines, buildings, and other structures.

Turning now to FIG. 9, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a millimeter-wave band antenna apparatus 900in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. The radiorepeater 904 can have a plastic cover 902 to protect the radio antennas906. The radio repeater 904 can be mounted to a utility pole, lightpole, or other structure 908 with a mounting arm 910. The radio repeatercan also receive power via power cord 912 and output the signal to anearby microcell using fiber or cable 914.

In some embodiments, the radio repeater 904 can include 16 antennas.These antennas can be arranged radially, and each can have approximately24 degrees of azimuthal beamwidth. There can thus be a small overlapbetween each antennas beamwidths. The radio repeater 904, whentransmitting, or receiving transmissions, can automatically select thebest sector antenna to use for the connections based on signalmeasurements such as signal strength, signal to noise ratio, etc. Sincethe radio repeater 904 can automatically select the antennas to use, inone embodiment, precise antenna alignment is not implemented, nor arestringent requirements on mounting structure twist, tilt, and sway.

In some embodiments, the radio repeater 904 can include a microcellwithin the apparatus, thus enabling a self-contained unit to be arepeater on the backhaul network, in addition to facilitatingcommunications with mobile devices. In other embodiments, the radiorepeater can include a wireless access point (e.g. 802.11ac).

Turning now to FIG. 10, a block diagram illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of an underground backhaul system in accordancewith various aspects described herein is shown. Pipes, whether they aremetallic or dielectric, can support the transmission of guidedelectromagnetic waves. Thus the distributed antenna backhaul systemsshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively, can be replicated usingunderground conduits 1004 in place of above ground power lines. Theunderground conduits can carry power lines or other cables 1002, and attransformer box 1006 an RF/optical modem can convert (modulate ordemodulate) the backhaul signal to or from the millimeter-wave (40 GHzor greater in an embodiment). A fiber or cable 1010 can carry theconverted backhaul signal to a microcell located nearby.

A single conduit can serve several backhaul connections along its routeby carrying millimeter-wave signals multiplexed in a time domain orfrequency domain fashion.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process in connection with the aforementionedsystems. The process in FIG. 11 can be implemented for example bysystems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 1000 illustrated in FIGS.1-7 and 10 respectively. While for purposes of simplicity ofexplanation, the methods are shown and described as a series of blocks,it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matteris not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described hereinafter.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram of an example, non-limitingembodiment of a method for providing a backhaul connection as describedherein. At step 1102, a first surface wave transmission is received overa power line. The surface wave transmission can be received by conetransceivers in some embodiments. In other embodiments, reflectors,positioned on the power line can reflect the surface wave to adielectric lens and waveguide that convert the surface wave into anelectronic transmission. At step 1104, the first surface wavetransmission is converted into an electronic transmission. The conetransceiver can receive the electromagnetic wave and convert it into anelectronic transmission that propagates through a circuit.

At step 1106, a communication signal is extracted from the electronictransmission. The communication signal can be extracted using an RFmodem that uses a protocol such as DOCSIS. The RF modem can modulate anddemodulate the electronic signal to extract the communication signal.The communication signal can be a signal received from the mobilenetwork, and can be provided to give network connectivity to adistributed base station.

At 1108, the communication signal can be sent to a base station devicenearby. The communication can be sent over fiber or cable, or can besent wirelessly using Wi-Fi (e.g., 802.11ac).

At 1110, the electronic transmission is transmitted as a second surfacewave transmission over the power line. A second cone transceiver orreflector can launch the surface wave on to the power line to a nextnode in the backhaul system. The first surface wave transmission and thesecond surface wave transmission are at a frequency of at least 30 GHz.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. For example, in some embodiments, the computer can be or beincluded within the mobile device data rate throttling system 200, 400,500 and/or 600.

In order to provide additional context for various embodiments of theembodiments described herein, FIG. 12 and the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computingenvironment 1200 in which the various embodiments of the embodimentdescribed herein can be implemented. While the embodiments have beendescribed above in the general context of computer-executableinstructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in theart will recognize that the embodiments can be also implemented incombination with other program modules and/or as a combination ofhardware and software.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can include, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliveryor transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refersto a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changedin such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By wayof example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media,such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 12, the example environment 1200 forimplementing various embodiments of the aspects described hereinincludes a computer 1202, the computer 1202 including a processing unit1204, a system memory 1206 and a system bus 1208. The system bus 1208couples system components including, but not limited to, the systemmemory 1206 to the processing unit 1204. The processing unit 1204 can beany of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessorsand other multi-processor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 1204.

The system bus 1208 can be any of several types of bus structure thatcan further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1206includes ROM 1210 and RAM 1212. A basic input/output system (BIOS) canbe stored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routinesthat help to transfer information between elements within the computer1202, such as during startup. The RAM 1212 can also include a high-speedRAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 1202 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1214 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 1214 can also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1216, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 1218) and an optical disk drive 1220, (e.g., readinga CD-ROM disk 1222 or, to read from or write to other high capacityoptical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 1214, magnetic diskdrive 1216 and optical disk drive 1220 can be connected to the systembus 1208 by a hard disk drive interface 1224, a magnetic disk driveinterface 1226 and an optical drive interface 1228, respectively. Theinterface 1224 for external drive implementations includes at least oneor both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 994 interface technologies. Other externaldrive connection technologies are within contemplation of theembodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 1202, the drives andstorage media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digitalformat. Although the description of computer-readable storage mediaabove refers to a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette,and a removable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of storagemedia which are readable by a computer, such as zip drives, magneticcassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also beused in the example operating environment, and further, that any suchstorage media can contain computer-executable instructions forperforming the methods described herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1212,including an operating system 1230, one or more application programs1232, other program modules 1234 and program data 1236. All or portionsof the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 1212. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1202 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1238 and apointing device, such as a mouse 1240. Other input devices (not shown)can include a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick, agame pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and other inputdevices are often connected to the processing unit 1204 through an inputdevice interface 1242 that can be coupled to the system bus 1208, butcan be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an IRinterface, etc.

A monitor 1244 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 1208 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1246. Inaddition to the monitor 1244, a computer typically includes otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 1202 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1248. The remotecomputer(s) 1248 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer1202, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device1250 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted includewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1252 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1254. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1202 can beconnected to the local network 1252 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 1256. The adapter 1256 canfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1252, which canalso include a wireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with thewireless adapter 1256.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1202 can includea modem 1258 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN1254 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1254, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1258, which can beinternal or external and a wired or wireless device, can be connected tothe system bus 1208 via the input device interface 1242. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1202 orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1250. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexample and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

The computer 1202 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can include Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, the communicationcan be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simplyan ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11 Mbps (802.11a) or54 Mbps (802.11b) data rate, for example or with products that containboth bands (dual band), so the networks can provide real-worldperformance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used inmany offices.

FIG. 13 presents an example embodiment 1300 of a mobile network platform1310 that can implement and exploit one or more aspects of the disclosedsubject matter described herein. Generally, wireless network platform1310 can include components, e.g., nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers,or disparate platforms, that facilitate both packet-switched (PS) (e.g.,internet protocol (IP), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM))and circuit-switched (CS) traffic (e.g., voice and data), as well ascontrol generation for networked wireless telecommunication. As anon-limiting example, wireless network platform 1310 can be included intelecommunications carrier networks, and can be considered carrier-sidecomponents as discussed elsewhere herein. Mobile network platform 1310includes CS gateway node(s) 1312 which can interface CS traffic receivedfrom legacy networks like telephony network(s) 1340 (e.g., publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), or public land mobile network (PLMN))or a signaling system #7 (SS7) network 1370. Circuit switched gatewaynode(s) 1312 can authorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice)arising from such networks. Additionally, CS gateway node(s) 1312 canaccess mobility, or roaming, data generated through SS7 network 1370;for instance, mobility data stored in a visited location register (VLR),which can reside in memory 1330. Moreover, CS gateway node(s) 1312interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PS gateway node(s) 1318.As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gateway node(s) 1312 can berealized at least in part in gateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN). Itshould be appreciated that functionality and specific operation of CSgateway node(s) 1312, PS gateway node(s) 1318, and serving node(s) 1316,is provided and dictated by radio technology(ies) utilized by mobilenetwork platform 1310 for telecommunication.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 1318 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions caninclude traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to thewireless network platform 1310, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 1350,enterprise network(s) 1370, and service network(s) 1380, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 1310 through PS gateway node(s) 1318. It is tobe noted that WANs 1350 and enterprise network(s) 1360 can embody, atleast in part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS).Based on radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s)1317, packet-switched gateway node(s) 1318 can generate packet dataprotocol contexts when a data session is established; other datastructures that facilitate routing of packetized data also can begenerated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 1318 caninclude a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetizedcommunication with disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Finetworks.

In embodiment 1300, wireless network platform 1310 also includes servingnode(s) 1316 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) 1317, convey the various packetized flows of datastreams received through PS gateway node(s) 1318. It is to be noted thatfor technology resource(s) 1317 that rely primarily on CS communication,server node(s) can deliver traffic without reliance on PS gatewaynode(s) 1318; for example, server node(s) can embody at least in part amobile switching center. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, servingnode(s) 1316 can be embodied in serving GPRS support node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)1314 in wireless network platform 1310 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can include add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bywireless network platform 1310. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 1318 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 1316 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 1314 can include utilityserver(s), a utility server can include a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through wireless network platform 1310 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 1312and PS gateway node(s) 1318 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 1350 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to wirelessnetwork platform 1310 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as femto-cell network(s) (not shown) that enhancewireless service coverage within indoor confined spaces and offload RANresources in order to enhance subscriber service experience within ahome or business environment by way of UE 1375.

It is to be noted that server(s) 1314 can include one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of macro networkplatform 1310. To that end, the one or more processor can execute codeinstructions stored in memory 1330, for example. It is should beappreciated that server(s) 1314 can include a content manager 1315,which operates in substantially the same manner as describedhereinbefore.

In example embodiment 1300, memory 1330 can store information related tooperation of wireless network platform 1310. Other operationalinformation can include provisioning information of mobile devicesserved through wireless platform network 1310, subscriber databases;application intelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates,flat-rate programs, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s)consistent with telecommunication protocols for operation of disparateradio, or wireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 1330 canalso store information from at least one of telephony network(s) 1340,WAN 1350, enterprise network(s) 1360, or SS7 network 1370. In an aspect,memory 1330 can be, for example, accessed as part of a data storecomponent or as a remotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 13, and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory 1320 (see below), non-volatile memory 1322 (see below), diskstorage 1324 (see below), and memory storage 1346 (see below). Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory caninclude random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory.By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in manyforms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronousDRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM(ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, watch, tablet computers, netbookcomputers, . . . ), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer orindustrial electronics, and the like. The illustrated aspects can alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network; however, some if not all aspects of the subjectdisclosure can be practiced on stand-alone computers. In a distributedcomputing environment, program modules can be located in both local andremote memory storage devices.

The embodiments described herein can employ artificial intelligence (AI)to facilitate automating one or more features described herein. Theembodiments (e.g., in connection with automatically identifying acquiredcell sites that provide a maximum value/benefit after addition to anexisting communication network) can employ various AI-based schemes forcarrying out various embodiments thereof. Moreover, the classifier canbe employed to determine a ranking or priority of the each cell site ofthe acquired network. A classifier is a function that maps an inputattribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . , xn), to a confidence thatthe input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence(class). Suchclassification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-basedanalysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) toprognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automaticallyperformed. A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifierthat can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in thespace of possible inputs, which the hypersurface attempts to split thetriggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, thismakes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but notidentical to training data. Other directed and undirected modelclassification approaches include, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks,decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilisticclassification models providing different patterns of independence canbe employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive ofstatistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to a predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc.

As used in this application, in some embodiments, the terms “component,”“system” and the like are intended to refer to, or include, acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational apparatuswith one or more specific functionalities, wherein the entity can beeither hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, computer-executableinstructions, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration andnot limitation, both an application running on a server and the servercan be a component. One or more components may reside within a processand/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition,these components can execute from various computer readable media havingvarious data structures stored thereon. The components may communicatevia local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signalhaving one or more data packets (e.g., data from one componentinteracting with another component in a local system, distributedsystem, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systemsvia the signal). As another example, a component can be an apparatuswith specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated byelectric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by a software orfirmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor canbe internal or external to the apparatus and executes at least a part ofthe software or firmware application. As yet another example, acomponent can be an apparatus that provides specific functionalitythrough electronic components without mechanical parts, the electroniccomponents can include a processor therein to execute software orfirmware that confers at least in part the functionality of theelectronic components. While various components have been illustrated asseparate components, it will be appreciated that multiple components canbe implemented as a single component, or a single component can beimplemented as multiple components, without departing from exampleembodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms),which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

Memory disclosed herein can include volatile memory or nonvolatilememory or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way ofillustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include readonly memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmableROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) or flash memory.Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), which acts asexternal cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM isavailable in many forms such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).The memory (e.g., data storages, databases) of the embodiments areintended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any othersuitable types of memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a first coupler; a secondcoupler; an antenna; a memory to store instructions; and a processor,communicatively coupled to the memory, to facilitate execution of theinstructions to perform operations, comprising: receiving, by theantenna, a first wireless signal that is converted to a first guidedelectromagnetic wave that propagates along a first transmission medium,wherein the first wireless signal conveys a modulated signal generatedby a first communication device; receiving, by the first coupler, thefirst guided electromagnetic wave guided by the first transmissionmedium; converting the first guided electromagnetic wave to anelectrical signal; and converting the electrical signal to a secondguided electromagnetic wave, the second guided electromagnetic wavegenerated on a surface of a second transmission medium utilizing thesecond coupler, wherein the second guided electromagnetic wave conveysthe modulated signal, and wherein the second guided electromagnetic waveis directed to another system that converts the second guidedelectromagnetic wave to a second wireless signal conveying the modulatedsignal, and wherein the second wireless signal is directed to a secondcommunication device.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first guidedelectromagnetic wave and the second guided electromagnetic wavepropagate in a same longitudinal direction.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the electrical signal is converted to the second guidedelectromagnetic wave by a transmitter.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe processor comprises a plurality of processors operating in adistributed processing environment.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereinthe modulated signal comprises speech data.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the first guided electromagnetic wave is received by a receiverand converted to the electrical signal by the receiver.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the second transmission medium comprises a portion ofthe first transmission medium.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem comprises a waveguide system that is a component of a distributedantenna system.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first guidedelectromagnetic wave and the second guided electromagnetic wave have anoperating frequency in a millimeter-wave frequency range.
 10. A method,comprising: receiving, by an antenna of a waveguide system, a firstwireless signal that is converted to a first guided electromagnetic waveguided by a first transmission medium, wherein the first wireless signalconveys a modulated signal generated by a first communication device;receiving, by a first coupler of the waveguide system, the first guidedelectromagnetic wave guided by the first transmission medium;converting, by the waveguide system, the first guided electromagneticwave to an electrical signal; and converting, by the waveguide system,the electrical signal to a second guided electromagnetic wave, thesecond guided electromagnetic wave being coupled to a secondtransmission medium by a second coupler of the waveguide system, whereinthe second guided electromagnetic wave conveys the modulated signal. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein the waveguide system comprises areceiver for receiving the first guided electromagnetic wave and forconverting the first guided electromagnetic wave to the electricalsignal.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the waveguide system furthercomprises a transmitter for converting the electrical signal to thesecond guided electromagnetic wave.
 13. The method of claim 10, whereinthe second transmission medium comprises a portion of the firsttransmission medium.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the secondguided electromagnetic wave is directed to another waveguide system thatconverts the second guided electromagnetic wave to a second wirelesssignal including the modulated signal.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the second wireless signal is directed to a second communicationdevice for processing the modulated signal.
 16. The method of claim 10,wherein the antenna is part of a distributed antenna system.
 17. Amethod, comprising: receiving, by an antenna, a first wireless signalthat is converted to a first guided electromagnetic wave guided by asurface of a first dielectric transmission medium, wherein the firstwireless signal conveys a modulated signal generated by a firstcommunication device; receiving, by a first coupler, the first guidedelectromagnetic wave guided by the first dielectric transmission medium;converting, by a receiver, the first guided electromagnetic wave to anelectrical signal; and converting, by a transmitter, the electricalsignal to a second guided electromagnetic wave, the second guidedelectromagnetic wave being coupled to a second dielectric transmissionmedium by a second coupler, wherein the second guided electromagneticwave conveys the modulated signal.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereinthe first coupler comprises a first dielectric coupler.
 19. The methodof claim 17, wherein the second coupler comprises a second dielectriccoupler.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second guidedelectromagnetic wave is directed to a system that converts the secondguided electromagnetic wave to a second wireless signal including themodulated signal, and wherein the second wireless signal is directed toa second communication device.